Hydroextractor.



C. MILLBR.

HYDROBXTROTOB. APPLICATION rnJm APR.12, 1910.

P,tented8epfi 13, 1910.

m 0 n/ o m .w m

c. MILLER. HYDBOEXTRAGTOB.

APPLICATION IILEI) APR. 124, 1910.

970,253. Patented Sept. 13,1910.

2 anus-31mm 2;

UN IIED STATES, PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES MILLER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

HYDROEXTRACTOR.

T0 aZZ whom il may' conm:

Be it known that I, CHARLES M1LLER, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of N ew- York, have invented certain neW and seful Improvements in Hydroex ing, which is left uncovered during the operation of the -machine, persons operating or Working about the machine have susta1ned injuries by falling through said opening and coming in contact with said rotating chamber.

The general object of this invention is to' provide means for protecting said, opening when themachme 1s 1noperat1cn, so as to prevent persons from"falling through said-I opening and bein injured.

A more particuhr object of the invention is to provide a gate adapted to be automatically brought into position to protect said opening in the machine upon the machine being: set in motion, and which may be readily shifted ont of such position when it is desired to remove the articles from the revolving chamber or to place articles therein.

Other objects Will appear from the following description.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts he1einafter described and pointed out in the claims.

A desirable embodimcnt of my invention is illnstrated in the nccompanying drawings in which the reference characters of the s1wcilcnlio11 indicate the correspmnling parts in all of the views.

Figure 1 is a side clevation of my invention shown attached to a hydrextractor With the inclosing gate, shown in its upper position in full lines, and in its lower position in dotted lines, Fig. 2 is a front cle- Vation 01: Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a detail view of ,Qate locking parts, Fig. 4 is a detail sectional vicw taken on the line 4, 4:, 01' Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a detail of the gate locking device hcreinafter explaincd.

Specification ofLetters Patent. Application filed April 12, 1910. Serial No. 554,923.

Patented Sept. 13, 1910.

. Inits present embodimentmy invention 1s shown in connection with a laundry ma.-

chine of the hydro-extractcr type, which* comprises a casihg 1 having legs 2, by means of which the machine is supported, and a top plate 3 provided with an opening 4. Upon shaft 5 suitably journaled in the base of casing 1 and in the upper portion of frame 6 which is secured to the top plate 3, is mounted the rotating chamber 7, in which the articles tobe treated are placed. The chamber 7 is rotated by belt 8 and pulley9 keyed.to the upper end of the shaft 5. The nsual belt shifting arm 10 is provided to shift the power belt from the loose to the fixed or drive pulley, to set the machine in motion, or to stop the same, said power belt and pulleys being omitted as they: are so well known in the art that illustration thereof is unnecessary. The above described parts constitute the Principal structure of a wellknown hydro-extractor.

Supported in the casing 1 and extending f u wardl from the top te 3 at each side 0 the opening 4 and in ront of the frame 6 are the vertical standards or guide rods 11. Slidably mounted uponthe rods 11 and extending forwardly 1n front of said rods is a gate 12. This gate may be of any suitable construction but prefefably comprises the upper and loweisflls 13 and 14 to which is attached the mesh 15. The gate may, be

generally in the are of a circle to substan-- tially corres ond to the circular openin 4, sec Fig. 5. he ends of the sills 13 and 14 are }provided with openings 16, through whic said rods extend, thus providing for the sliding movement of the gate 11pon said rods. lrVeights 17 connected to the gate 12 by means of ropes 18 which pass oyer sheaves 19, journaled in brackets 20 secu.red to rods 11, serve to relieve the weight of the gate so that it may be easily raised when access 1s des1red to the mtcrror of the machine; but the gate 1s of such wewht that 1tw1ll overcmn the wcight 17 and drop to the positien shown in dotted limes in Fig. 1, when it is otherwise free to slidc on the rods 11. The gate is so shaped that when it is in its lowermost position it will fit around the cdge of opening 4: and inclose the same to prcvent anyone from accidentally falling throngh said o )ening into the intcrior of the machine.

livoted at the upper end of one of the.

rods 11 is a catch 91., providcd with a shoulder 22 adapted to engage the sill 13 of gate 12 when the gate is raised to its uppermost position, whereby said gate is held securely in such position. 'The catch 21'1s also pro:

vided with a pin 23 adapted to be engaged said lever and a slot 27 in said dog, and a nut 28 which screws on the end of the bolt.

.This adjustment provides for any variation which may appear in the movement of the lever 25. The lever 25 is pivoted tp the frame 6 on pivot 30 which extends throngh slot 31 in the lever, and is provided with cotter in 32 to prevent the lever from sliding 0 of the pivot. The lower end of the lever 25 is connected to belt shifting arm 10 by pin 33 which extends throngh slot 34: in said lever. The belt shifting arm 10 passes thrOngh an opening 35 in the Web of the frame 6 and is provided with notches 36 and 37 adapted to be engaged by the lower edge of the opening 35, whereby the arm is locked in either of its two positions, namely that position it assumes when the belt is shifted to the fixed pulley, and the other position it assumes when the belt is shifted to the loose pulley. As a further protection and to prevent the operator from raising the gate while the machine is in operation, -I provide a projection or stop 10 from the belt shifting arm 10 adapted, when said arm is pulled forivard to start the machine, to engage any snitable part of the gate, as for instance, the projection 10 may extend over the sill 14. Thus, when.the gate has been lowered, and the machine is rnnning with the projection 10 above sill 14, the gate cannot be raised nntil the belt shifting arm 10 is moved back to stop the nach1ne. V f

The operation of my' improvements is as follows: Assuming the machine to be at rest and the parts in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, and that it is desired to set the machine in motion, the belt shifting ami 10 is first grasped by its handle and lifted until the notch 37 of said arm is out of en-' gagement with the lower edge of thebpening 35; as the arm is raised italso lifts with it the lever 25, slot 31, in which the pivot 30 works, permittin -such movement of the lever; the arm 10 1s then pulled forward until the notch 36is engaged by the lower edge of the slot 35, and the machine is then set in motion;- as the arm 10 is pulled forward the lever 25 is swung on its pivot carrying with it the trip dog 24 until it engages V the pin 23 on catch 21 and disengages said catch from the sill 13 of gate 12, whereupon said gate Will drop automatically to its lowermost position and inclose the opening -being shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the operator permitting the gate to dro .to its scat before arm 10 is pulled fully orward so as to look the gate in its lowered position.

When 1t is desired to stop the machine and remove the gate .from the opening 4: so that access may be had to the interior of the machine, the arm 10 is first raised until the notch 36 is disengaged and is pushed bach- Ward releasing projection 10 from the gate and until the notch 37 is engaged by the lower edge of the Opening 35, whereupon the machine is brought to rest, the lever 25, dog 24: and catch 21 are again brought to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1; the gate is raised to its extreme upper cs1- tion, during which movement the sill 133 engages the forward inclined ed e of the catch 21, forces said catch backward until the sill passes the shoulder 22, wh'erenpon the catch swings forward again by gravity, and the shoulder engages the lower edge of the sill 13, and thereby looks the gate in its uppermost position out of use while the machine is at rest.

\Vhile I have described my invention as being applied to a laundry machine 01 the hydro-extractor type, yet it is obvious that it may be applied to advantage tomany other machines and 150 other purposes.

I do not desire to limit myself to the exact construction herein shown and described, as it is obvious that variations may be made without departing from the spirit ofthe invention.

Having now described my invention what I claim is:

1. A safety device comprising guide mem bers, a gate slidably mounted on said guide members, means for locking said gate in the position it assumes when not in use, power operatin devices, and means-to control the saine an loch and release said gate.

2.A safety device comprising guide members, a gate slidably mounted on said guide members adapted to normally rest in the position it assumes whe in use, and means for locking said gate in the position it;ssumes when not in use, power controlling devices, and means operated by said devices for snpporting and rleasing said gate.

' 3. A safety device comprising guide members, a gate slidably mounted on said guide members adapted to normally rest in the position it assumes when in use, weights connected to said gate to relive its weight so that it may be easily raised to the position i t assumes When not in use, and means for locking said gate in the position it assumes when not in use, power Controlling devices, and means operated by said devices for operating said gate locking means.

in'such position, a trip do a apted to dis.

engag said catch from sai gate so that the gate n1ay move 'to the position it assumes when in use, a lever connected to and operating Said dog, and an arm for actuating said leve.m

5. In a hydro-extractor th'e combination With a rotatably mounted chamber, and a casing surrounding said chamber and provided with an opening to permit access to 'said chamber, of guide members, a gate slidably mounted on said guide members adapted to protectsaid opening, means for locking sa1d gate in the position it assumes when with a rotatably nnounted chamber, a casim removed from said opening.and out of use, and means for releasing sa1d gate, so that it will-move to the position it assumes when in use, and protect said opening when said chamber is set in motion.

6. In a hydro-extractor the combination surrounding said chamber and providew1 th an open1ng t0 perm1t access to sa1d chamber, and a power controlling arm, of

guide members, a gate slidably mounted on said guide membersadapted to protect said opening, a catch for locking Said gate in the position it assumes When removed fromsaid opening and out of use, and a trip dog operatively connected to said power control;

ling arm adapted toengage said catch to release said gate, so that it will move to the position it assumes when in use adjacent said opening, when said power controlling arm is moved to set said chamber in motion.

7. In a hydro-extractor the combination -with a rotatively monnted chamber, a casing surrounding said chamber and provided With ,an opening to permit access to the chamber, a gate adapted to protect said 'opening, means to'guide the gate in i ts movements5 means to retain the ate away from said opening, a power Shifiing arm, and means operated by said arm for releas ing the gate holding means.

8. In a hydro-extractor the combination with a rotatively mounted chamber, a casing surro1inding Said chamber and provided with an opening to permit access to the chmnber, a gate adapted to protect said opening, means to guidethe gate in its movemente, means to rctain the gate away from said opening, a power shrtting arm, and means o erated by said arm for relasing the gate 1olding means, said a1m bein provided with means to retain the gate 111 the lowered position while the machine is in operation. 1

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York, and State of N ew York, this 8th day o April,A. D. 1910.

' CHARLES MILLER.

Vitncsses RALPIl H. RAPIIAEL, T. F. BOURNE.' 

